Early voting totals show incumbent council member Vanessa Fuentes is leading in Southeast Austin's City Council District 2 with 86.11% of the early vote.
Initial results reported by Travis County show Fuentes in with a strong lead over her only challenger in the race, instructor and former Republican Texas House candidate Robert Reynolds, with 17,798 total votes to Reynolds' 2,870.
All results are unofficial until canvassed. Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
The context
Fuentes was first elected in 2020. In her four years on the council dais, she's promoted higher wages for city employees, opposed state-level abortion and immigration policies, moved to expand child care access, and tackled issues within her district like food access and safety at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. She's also joined with her colleagues to approve several revisions to city land-use policies, like both phases of the controversial "HOME" initiative.
In a second term, she said she hopes to continue improving District 2 residents' quality of life, build on housing affordability strategies, and improve public safety responses with a focus on mental health and alternative response types.
Reynolds didn't respond to Community Impact's candidate questionnaire and didn't release a platform online. He also didn't report any significant campaign activity this year.
